Where Do I Start with John Cage?

In the latest Slate Book Review, Seth Colter Walls reviews the latest biography of John Cage. For many music fans, Walls notes, Cage’s name conjures up silence, specifically the silence of his composition 4’33”. But what about the rest of Cage’s music?

We asked Walls to put together a Spotify playlist of the best Cage works for newcomers. The playlist includes some of the experimental composer’s early piano music—which Walls calls “beautiful, even jazzy”—along with choral pieces, string compositions, and the kind of noisy turntable music you’re more likely to associate with Cage.